In a computer system, electronic components such a processor unit and other components such as a memory controller hub (MCH), I/O controller hub (ICH), voltage regulators for processor units, system voltage regulators, etc. can generate tremendous amounts of heat. If this heat is not dissipated, these components can be damaged and/or cease to perform. A cooling fan and/or a heat sink may be used to cool the electronic component.
In computers such as modern mobile computers, the closed environment and severe space limitations make the cooling of electronic components even more challenging and critical. One conventional cooling technique may use an attach block that may be thermally coupled to an electronic component. The attach block may be a copper plate or another conductor which conducts heat away from the electronic component. Heat may be dissipated from the attach block to a heat exchanger via a heat pipe such as a metal tube or the like. A cooling fan may blow cool air at a high velocity over the heat exchanger, thus effectively removing heat from the hottest components such as processor units through conduction. This method is quite effective in cooling the processor unit.
Due to space limitations in modern computers, cooling fans may be reserved for the higher heat dissipating and/or power consuming components such as processors. In such computer systems, other electrical components such as the MCH, ICH, voltage regulators, hard drives, etc. may be cooled via passive air such as the inlet air provided to the cooling fan.
Conventional techniques may pull the fan inlet air across the system, for system cooling, then into the fan. Such techniques are disadvantageous in that they may not produce high velocity cooling air to cool system components, and may further result in excess drag (load) on the fan, cooling of components that need not be cooled, and/or pre-heating of air to the otherwise efficient solution for cooling components such as a processor unit.
Such passive mechanisms for cooling system components use air at low velocities that may not be sufficiently cool to be effective. Such mechanisms for cooling system components can be inefficient.